During the 2026 Parade of Nations in the Milan Cortina Olympics Opening Ceremony, you won’t hear “United States” be called out in English to announce Team USA — instead, viewers will need to listen for their country to be announced in Italian.
The Olympic Opening Ceremony formally kicked off the start of the 2026 Milan Cortina Games Friday at 1 p.m. CT, with the iconic Parade of Nations as one of the heavily anticipated events taking place during the celebration.
A re-run of the three-hour Opening Ceremony will be aired in primetime on NBC at 7 p.m. CT, with a greater focus on Team USA athletes.
During the Parade of Nations, athletes from more than 90 countries walked alongside their flag. A look at the order that countries marched in is available here.
For Team USA supporters tuning in for the primetime coverage, here’s what to listen for so you don’t miss the athletes marching:
“United States” translates to “Stati Uniti” in Italian, pronounced “STAH-tee oo-NEE-tee.”
Similarly, “the United States of America” translates to “gli Stati Uniti d’America,” pronounced “lyee STAH-tee oo-NEE-tee dah-MEH-ree-kah.”